Tag Archives: IDEA reauthorization

The Individual Education Plan, IEP, outlines the services your child needs to meet his learning needs. Parents are an important asset to the IEP team.

Dr. Pat McGuire‘s insight:

School may be out for the summer, but for many parents this is when they are finally getting into agencies and organizations that provide assessment for developmental, learning, and behavioral issues. Information from these assessments may be important in advocating for an IEP for their child when school resumes in the Fall.

This is definitely an article to bookmark as you make plans for the next school year in either working for an IEP or updating the IEP that your child has.

Our education system is not broken, it has just become obsolete When I think of all the tremendous, seemingly impossible feats made possible by entrepreneurs, I am amazed that more has not been done to reinvent our education system.

Dr. Pat McGuire‘s insight:

Naveen Jain does a great job of discussing why education needs to change. He is quick to point out that the problem is not that our system is broken, but rather it is obsolete. When you look at education you have to agree. The current system was developed in the 1800s, which was in the midst of the industrial revolution. The main industries were manufacturing and farming. The goal of education was to make good citizens who would respect their superiors. They were not taught to think independently but to be part of the group. Society now looks for creative, individual thinkers, who can also work in groups. Education needs to work with society, not hold it back. Let’s bring in neuroscience and technology into the equation and redo education for the 21st century.

Would you like a copy of my free report on oppositional children? Click here.

A small change tucked inside a government spending bill this month may have big implications for special education.

Dr. Pat McGuire‘s insight:

This article is important for 2 reasons. 1 – It shows that the federal government won’t allow children with special needs to be the ones who suffer when there are economic problems, 2 – This rewrite also allows those states who are keeping their focus on helping children with special needs can get extra funds if they become available. It doesn’t just sit in the coffers. I feel that the administration has been an advocate for children with special needs with this effort.

Students with severe cognitive disabilities have not been effectively helped to be contributing members of their communities during their high school career or afterward. This article discusses the recommendations of the Collaboration to Promote Self-Determination that would create a more student focused high school experience. Having worked with many students who have gone through our current system, I can confirm that there’s not a uniform system of education for this group of students, or for many who are significantly learning disabled. The focus of high school is still on the idea that all students will go to college, even though a large number go directly to the work force. How do you feel about this issue.